Parliament Square: Access

David Amess: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission what discussions the House authorities have had with the Metropolitan police on vehicular access to the parliamentary estate from Parliament Square since 20 April; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Harvey: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 27 April 2009,  Official Report, column 1000W.

Departmental Rail Travel

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what guidance his Department has issued to its staff on claims for travel in first class carriages on trains if there are no seats in standard class.

Kevan Jones: Some military and civilian personnel are entitled to a certain standard of rail travel based on their rank or grade, and some of this involves rail travel at first class. Although some may utilise this, they are actively encouraged to consider whether it is needed, or whether the business can be conducted through alternative measures (e.g. video-conferencing).
	There is no specific guidance on what staff with a standard class entitlement should do if no standard class seats are available, we would expect staff to weigh up the available options at the time and to minimise expenditure as far as possible.

Jobcentre Plus: Telephone Services

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey, of 5 March 2009,  Official Report, columns 1794-5W, on Jobcentre Plus: telephone services, how many calls were received by benefit contact centres in each month in each of the last three years.

Jonathan R Shaw: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the acting chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Mel Groves. I have asked the acting chief executive to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Mel Groves, dated 29 April 2009:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking how many calls were received by benefit contact centres in each month in each of the last three years. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as acting chief executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	Jobcentre Plus uses contact centres for a number of services including new claims to benefit (but excluding benefit enquiries). The table below provides information on the total number of calls received by Jobcentre Plus contact centres in each month of the last three years, from March 2006 to February 2009 inclusive:
	
		
			  Calls received by Jobcentre Plus contact centres 
			   2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			 April — 1,347,920 1,270,097 1,373,527 
			 May — 1,410,836 1,494,634 1,599,042 
			 June — 1,947,139 1,385,229 1,558,995 
			 July — 1,602,935 1,503,454 1,881,447 
			 August — 1,853,699 1,810,741 1,392,754 
			 September — 1,581,764 1,468,596 1,514,106 
			 October — 1,475,913 1,370,292 1,933,292 
			 November — 1,685,332 1,622,254 1,732,641 
			 December — 830,709 855,633 940,345 
			 January — 1,698,352 1,998,319 2,301,754 
			 February — 1,609,820 1,450,419 1,768,980 
			 March 1,911,805 1,804,525 1,357,724 — 
			  Notes: 1. Contact centres went on line in March 2006. 2. Data for March 2009 is not yet available.  Source: Centrevu, Opmis and Brio 
		
	
	I hope this information is helpful.

Motability

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he plans to extend the motability scheme to people experiencing negative effects from the administration of thalidomide.

Jonathan R Shaw: The Motability scheme is open to anyone who has qualified for the higher rate mobility component of Disability Living Allowance or War Pensioners' Mobility Supplement and has an award length of sufficient duration.
	There are no plans to change eligibility to the Motability scheme.

Private Security Industry

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent discussions he has had with ministerial colleagues on the use of registered and unregistered workers in the private security industry working on contracts with public sector bodies in Wales.

Wayne David: I am not aware of any instance when any unregistered workers are illegally employed on contracts with public sector bodies in Wales. As the hon. Gentleman is no doubt aware, the Private Security Industry Act of 2001 states that security companies can only operate with employees who hold Security Industry Authority License.

Battles

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether his Department has had recent discussions with representatives of the Battlefields Trust on the protection of sites of historic battles in England; and if he will make a statement.

Barbara Follett: I am having discussions with the Battlefields Trust on how these sites can contribute to tourism and become educational learning resources.
	English Heritage, the Government's statutory adviser on the historic environment, are also working closely with the Battlefields Trust to protect the 43 registered battlefields in England. For example, English Heritage has just offered the trust a grant to support its conservation work, including expanding its network of volunteers to create local champions for every registered battlefield in England.

Overseas Visitors: Statistics

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport for what reason the publication of statistics on foreign visitor numbers to the UK for the first quarter of 2009 was delayed.

Barbara Follett: holding answer 27 April 2009
	 The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is responsible for publication of the numbers of foreign visitors to the UK. They advise that their Overseas Travel and Tourism First Release document which was due to be published on 16 April 2009 has been cancelled. This was to allow further quality assurance work to be carried out on the newly designed survey and processing system being used on the International Passenger Survey in 2009.
	The ONS will next publish the Overseas Travel and Tourism figures on 14 May 2009 and this will include the figures for January, February and March 2009.

Tourism: Transport

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent discussions his Department has had with the Department of Transport on support for the domestic tourism industry through  (a) the rail network,  (b) public bus services and  (c) road construction.

Barbara Follett: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport worked with the Department for Transport on the development of our "Sustainable tourism in England: A framework for action—meeting the key challenges" document which we published in March 2009. An electronic copy of this has been deposited in the House Library.
	In addition, we will be convening a joint meeting of ministerial colleagues shortly, including one from the Department for Transport, to discuss cross-cutting issues relevant to the promotion of the visitor economy.

Departmental Public Expenditure

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what efficiency savings his Department has made in each of the last three years; and what estimate he has made of the amount saved by such means in each year.

Huw Irranca-Davies: DEFRA has delivered significant efficiencies during the last three years. We report on the delivery against our efficiency targets twice yearly, in the departmental and autumn performance reports.
	 2006-07 and 2007-08 (years 2 and 3 of the 2004 Spending Review period)
	Under the 2004 Spending Review (SR04), DEFRA was required to deliver by the end of 2007-08 efficiencies of £610 million compared with 2004-05. At the end of March 2008, DEFRA had delivered total net financial efficiency gains of £752 million per year, with £433 million arising from the Department together with its Executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies (NDBPs) and £357 million from local authorities. Even after carrying forward £38 million cashable and sustainable gains to the 2007 comprehensive spending review (CSR07), DEFRA's efficiency programme (excluding local authorities) delivered a total of £84 million financial gains in excess of its target for the SR04 period. The table details the progress made in delivery by area in both 2006-07 and 2007-08 (2007-08 figures are cumulative across the SR04 period) against the SR04 savings baseline.
	
		
			  £ million 
			Efficiency gains 
			  Initiative  Original target  2006-07  2007-08 
			 Departmental Reform 14 9 11 
			 E-nabling and IT 11 13 22 
			 Corporate services reform 3 6 7 
			 Environment Agency 73 91 129 
			 England Rural Development Programme IT 30 15 15 
			 Catalyst 8 0 0 
			 Animal Health (was the State Veterinary Service) 4 4 7 
			 Rural Payments Agency Change Programme 52 0 0 
			 Emissions Trading 43 2 43 
			 Procurement 30 56 101 
			 Executive Agencies 17 27 55 
			 Modernising Rural Delivery 13 10 14 
			 Estates 3 3 3 
			 Renew DEFRA Programme 0 0 8 
			 Other 10 7 17 
			 Sub-Total 311 245 433 
			 Waste Management 299 248 357 
			 Total 610 493 (1)790 
			 (1) Total efficiencies delivered, of which £38 million was carried forward to CSR07 resulting in net saving of £752 million.  Note: Totals may not sum due to rounding 
		
	
	 2008-09 (year 1 of the 2007 comprehensive spending review period)
	Full year efficiency savings delivered in 2008-09 are still being validated for inclusion in the 2009 departmental report. Our latest published progress report, for the first half of 2008-09, was included in DEFRA's autumn performance report published in December 2008 at:
	www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/apr/apr2008.pdf
	At the end of September 2008, the Department had, subject to further validation, confidence in delivering £218 million of full year savings against its target for 2008-09 of £228.4 million. Delivery of savings up to the end of September included the following:
	Over delivery of SR04 efficiency savings: £19 million.
	Allocative savings: £41 million, based on reduced input costs in lower value activities, allowing savings to be released and factored into budgets for higher value activities, leading to improved outputs.
	Delivery of other value for money improvements including:
	programme areas following zero based reviews: £14 million;
	minor programmes and projects: £11 million; and
	cross-departmental core functions: £12 million.
	DEFRA's original CSR07 target of £379 million was reduced to £306 million following the creation of the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) in October 2008 and the transfer of elements of the target—and delivery against these—to DECC. However, it has now been increased by an additional £75 million to £381 million to reflect DEFRA's contribution to additional cross-Government VfM savings confirmed in the 2009 Budget. A full report on delivery in 2008-09 will be published in the next departmental report.

Fishing Catches

Geoffrey Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will estimate the level of over-fishing undertaken by foreign trawlers in the Bristol Channel.

Huw Irranca-Davies: The inner parts of the Bristol channel are considered Internal Waters eastward of a base-line between approximately Worms Head and Morte Point. No foreign vessels are allowed to fish within six miles to the west of this line. Beyond that in the UK six to 12 mile belt, only French and Belgian vessels have any access to fish.
	Levels of fishing effort and catches of quota species by all member state vessels outside the six mile limit may be subject to both EU and member state controls. Overfishing of days or quotas by vessels flying the flag of other member states is a matter for the respective member states' enforcement authorities. The Marine and Fisheries Agency direct fishery protection activity, conducting inspections at sea within UK fishing limits and in UK ports to ensure that vessels from all member states are completing logbook records of their catches correctly. Most, if not all, of the other member state vessels fishing in the Bristol channel and the Celtic sea are above 15 metres in overall length. They are therefore also monitored by satellite position reports sent to the UK Fishery Monitoring Centre in the Marine and Fisheries Agency headquarters in London.

Waste Disposal: Fees and Charges

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 27 January 2009,  Official Report, column 334W, on waste disposal: fees and charges, whether his Department plans to invite further bids for pilots for charges for the collection of household waste; and whether post-deadline bids will be accepted.

Jane Kennedy: We are not actively inviting bids. However the provisions which were requested by local authorities and the local government association remain on the statute book. A local authority is therefore at liberty to submit a proposal which would receive due consideration.

Water Charges

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Stroud of 19 January 2009,  Official Report, columns 1015-6W, on water charges, what conclusions he has drawn from his most recent assessment of the effect on youth and community groups of changes to surface water charges; and what steps he plans to take in respect of the affordability of surface water charges by such groups.

Huw Irranca-Davies: Ministers have repeatedly said that something is very wrong if customers such as community sports clubs and properties owned by scout associations are facing massive increases in bills as a result of the switch to site area charging for surface water drainage by some water companies.
	Under the Water Industry Act 1991 it is for companies to propose schemes of charges and for Ofwat, as the independent economic regulator for the water industry, to approve them. Government guidance issued to Ofwat in 2000 states that surface water drainage charges for non-household customers should be set in a way that is sensitive to the actual use of the service by different types of premises and that the phasing in of any large, sudden changes in charges should be considered.
	United Utilities, where the problems have mostly arisen, has now announced that it will set its surface water drainage charges for 2009-10 at 2007-08 levels for faith buildings, community amateur sports clubs (and similar sports clubs) and properties owned by scout and guide associations and will develop a long term solution for 2010-11 and beyond. The Government will continue to monitor this issue and engage further with Ofwat as necessary.

Antibiotics

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to restrict the prescription of antibiotics.

Dawn Primarolo: The Department does not restrict antibiotics but has a policy of appropriate prescribing to support effective treatment of infections and slow down the development of antibiotic resistance. Initiatives contributing to this include public education campaign explaining that antibiotics do not cure coughs and colds, guidance on prescribing and feedback of local prescribing data to general practice.

Maternity Services: Standards

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will issue guidelines for the minimum standard of maternity care based on the UNICEF Ten steps to successful breastfeeding and the UNICEF Baby Friendly Initiative.

Dawn Primarolo: In their guidance on Maternal and Child Nutrition, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) states that all maternity care providers should implement an externally evaluated, structured programme that encourages breastfeeding, using the Baby Friendly Initiative as a minimum standard. The Department supports the NICE recommendations and encourages all national health service trusts to implement these recommendations.
	Prevalence of breastfeeding at six to eight weeks is a key indicator in the Child Health and Well-being Public Service Agreement. The Department supports the implementation of the UNICEF UK Baby Friendly Initiative and have funded 40 primary care trusts with low breastfeeding rates to implement Baby Friendly Initiative, which includes UNICEF UK's 10 steps to successful breastfeeding.

Obesity: Surgery

Lembit �pik: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many gastric bands have been fitted by surgery in England in the last 12 months; what estimate he has made of the cost of such operations; what guidance his Department has issued on the criteria to be applied in determining candidates for such treatment; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: Data is not yet available for 2007-08. Data is provided for 2006-07 which shows that there were 706 finished consultant episodes where there was a primary diagnosis of obesity and an insertion of a gastric band as a main operation carried out in England.
	The reference costs information details the national average of a variety of procedures and treatment undertaken by the national health service in England. It also provides information on the cost to the NHS of buying in services from non-NHS providers in England. However, the cost of gastric band operations cannot be separately identified due to the way that data is collected.
	The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has set Guidance on the prevention, identification, assessment and management of overweight and obesity in adults and children, available at:
	www.nice.org.uk/CG43
	A copy has been placed in the Library. This guidance is for both health and non-health professionals, and contains guidance on when bariatric surgery may be considered as an option. Gastric bands are only one type of procedure recommended for the treatment of obesity by NICE.
	It is up to primary care trusts as local commissioners and providers of services to determine the most appropriate methods to deliver health care to their populations, based on clinical need and effectiveness, and following medical advice.
	 Notes:
	1. Finished Consultant Episode (FCE):
	A finished consultant episode (FCE) is defined as a continuous period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. FCEs are counted against the year in which they end. Please note that the figures do not represent the number of different patients, as a person may have more than one episode of care within the same stay in hospital or in different stays in the same year.
	2. Number of episodes in which the patient had a (named) primary diagnosis:
	These figures represent the number of episodes where the diagnosis was recorded in the primary diagnosis field in a Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) record.
	3. The ICD-10 code used to identify Obesity is as follows:
	E66Obesity
	4. Main procedure:
	The main procedure is the first recorded procedure or intervention in the HES data set and is usually the most resource intensive procedure or intervention performed during the episode. It is appropriate to use main procedure when looking at admission details, (e.g. time waited), but a more complete count of episodes with a particular procedure is obtained by looking at the main and the secondary procedure.
	5. The OPCS codes used to identify a gastric band insertion is as follows:
	G30.3Partitioning of stomach using band
	 Data Quality
	HES are compiled from data sent by more than 300 NHS trusts and primary care trusts in England. Data is also received from a number of independent sector organisations for activity commissioned by the English NHS. The NHS Information Centre for health and social care liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data via HES processes. While this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain.
	 Source:
	Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), The NHS Information Centre for health and social care

Departmental Data Protection

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will place in the Library a copy of his Department's IT security hierarchy.

Gareth Thomas: It is not in the interest of the security of the Department, or that of the public, to disclose detailed information pertaining to electronic breaches of security of Department's IT systems. Disclosing such information would enable criminals and those who would attempt to cause disruptive threats to the Department to deduce how to conduct attacks and therefore potentially enhance their capability to carry out such attacks.

Malawi: Health Services

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment his Department has made of the progress against objectives of the health worker support system in Malawi funded with the assistance of his Department.

Ivan Lewis: The Department for International Development (DFID) has been supporting the Emergency Human Resource Programme (EHRP) since implementation began in 2005. Progress against the objectives of the EHRP is assessed on a bi-annual basis in national health sector reviews: Progress to date has been very encouraging, with objectives likely to be met. For example: the number of doctors graduating has increased from 17 per year in 2004 to 60 per year currently; the number of nurses leaving Malawi to work overseas has fallen from around 100 annually in 2002-04 to around 30 annually in 2007-08; and there are 40 per cent. more doctors and nurses practicing in the public health system than four years ago.
	A formal evaluation of the EHRP will be conducted in the second half of 2009, with results due in early 2010. DFID is commissioning this evaluation on behalf of the Ministry of Health and all other partners. It will provide valuable lessons for Malawi and also for other low-income countries with public sector human resource crises.

Malawi: Health Services

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether his Department has made an assessment of changes in the  (a) accommodation,  (b) training and  (c) other support costs for workers in the Malawian health system since the health workers support system was implemented with the assistance of his Department.

Ivan Lewis: The Department for International Development (DFID) is assessing the impact of the Emergency Human Resource Programme (EHRP) on an on-going basis most recently at the national health sector review of April 2009.
	 (a) On accommodation, the EHRP is funding a major staff house-building programme. Model houses have been completed and approved, 250 additional staff houses are under construction and further 250 are being rehabilitated. On completion this will create a major incentive for staff to work in rural areas.
	 (b) The EHRP has made very positive progress on training targets, and is meeting its objective to
	'expand training capacity by 50%, and more in key cadres, with a focus on all nurses having basic mid-wife skills'.
	There has been a 50 per cent. or more increase in enrolment in training institutions; more and better tutors; and better infrastructure. The College of Medicine has expanded, and improved quality, to become a model medical school for Southern Africa.
	 (c) Other support costs for health workers have often come from district budgets under Malawi's decentralised structures. For example, in Mchinji District funds have been used for solar power for staff accommodation and health centres, staff transport costs and district-level training and supervision. Such support creates incentives for staff to continue working in isolated rural posts.

Prison Escapes: Reoffenders

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 23 March 2009,  Official Report, column 180W, on open prisons: prison escapes, how many abscondees from open prisons were convicted of a further offence while unlawfully at large in each year since 1997; and for which offences.

David Hanson: To provide the information requested could be done only at disproportionate cost.
	All those located in open conditions have been risk assessed and categorised as being of low risk to the public.
	Time spent in open prisons affords prisoners the opportunity to find work, re-establish family ties, reintegrate into the community and ensure housing needs are met. For long-term prisoners, these are essential components for successful resettlement and an important factor in protecting the public.
	The police, CPS and Prison Service are working together to ensure that absconders are prosecuted both as a punishment for the offence and to deter other prisoners in the future.

Prisoners: Childbirth

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 26 January 2009, 
	(1)  how many women who gave birth in prison were aged  (a) 16,  (b) 17 and  (c) 18 years in each year since 2005;
	(2)  how many children were born to mothers in  (a) young offenders' institutions,  (b) secure training centres and  (c) secure children's homes in each of the last three years.

Jack Straw: As a result of configuration problems experienced with the database used to record information on the number of women who have given birth, and the number of children born to mothers, in young offender institutions, this information can not be provided at present.
	A review of the systems used to record this data is being undertaken to ensure effective processes for data collection and retention are in place. Every effort will be made to consolidate historical data and I will write to the hon. Member when this work is complete to provide all the information that is available in response to his questions.
	Some 17 year-olds and women under 17 years of age are held in secure training centres or secure children's homes. Information on the number of women aged 16 and 17 years-old who have given birth in secure training centres (STCs) or secure children's homes (SCHs) was not collected centrally before April 2006. Information for the period since that date is given in table A.
	
		
			  Table A 
			  April to March each year  16 year-olds  17 year-olds 
			 2006-07 1 1 
			 2007-08 2 1 
			 2008-09 0 3 
		
	
	Of the eight women listed in Table A, seven were held in secure training centres and one in a secure children's home.
	The number of children born to mothers in STC and SCH in each of the last three years is given in table B.
	
		
			  Table B 
			  April to March each year  YOI  STC  SCH 
			 2006-07  1 1 
			 2007-08  3 0 
			 2008-09  3 0

Sentencing: Greater Manchester

Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many criminal offences committed in  (a) Stockport and  (b) Greater Manchester in each of the last five years resulted in (i) a prison sentence and (ii) a suspended prison sentence.

Maria Eagle: The available information is shown in the following table; it shows the number of (i) immediate custodial sentences and (ii) suspended sentences imposed in the Greater Manchester police force area. This data relates to the principal offence sentenced on a particular occasion and it is not known how many offences are represented by the number of sentences recorded.
	The courts proceedings database does not record where the offence was committed and cannot be broken down into a smaller area than Greater Manchester police force area.
	
		
			  Number of immediate and suspended( 1)  custodial sentences imposed in Greater Manchester police force area, 2003-07 
			   2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			 Immediate custodial sentences 7,018 6,623 6,227 6,087 6,200 
			 Suspended sentences 136 155 771 2,680 3,064 
			 (1) Fully suspended sentences for offences committed prior to 4 April 2005, suspended sentence orders for offences committed on or after 4 April 2005. This data is based on the principal offence. Where an offender has been sentenced for more than one offence, the principal offence is the one for which the heaviest sentence was imposed; where the same sentence has been imposed for two or more offence, the principal offence is the one for which the statutory maximum is most severe.  Note: These figures have been drawn from administrative data systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system.  Source: OMS Analytical Services, Ministry of Justice.

Kenya

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will place in the Library a copy of the  (a) December 2008 Memorandum of Understanding with Kenya and  (b) the EU-Kenya exchange of letters regarding the transfer of persons suspected of committing acts of piracy of 6 March 2009.

David Miliband: The Kenyan Government do not wish to make public the December 2008 memorandum of understanding with the UK on the transfer of persons suspected of having committed acts of piracy. We must respect their position on this matter. The EU-Kenya exchange of letters is available on the European Union Council website at:
	http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2009:079:0049:0059:EN:PDF

Sudan: Peacekeeping Operations

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which of the joint UN-AU force for Darfur key deployment milestones discussed at the Tripartite Committee meeting on 31 March 2009 are planned to be reached  (a) in the next quarter and  (b) by the end of 2009.

Gillian Merron: UN-African Union hybrid mission to Darfur (UNAMID) staff briefed the Tripartite committee meeting that deployment of military forces currently stands at 67 per cent. of mandated strength. By the end of June military deployment is anticipated to be at 72 per cent. UNAMID expects all pledged units to have deployed by end of November which would bring military deployment to 92 per cent.
	At 31 March 2009 the police component stood at 1778 police officers (47 per cent. of mandated strength). A further 200 personnel are expected to deploy each month until full mandated strength is reached.
	The civil component was not discussed at the Tripartite meeting but currently stands at 62 per cent.

Written Questions: Government Responses

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he plans to answer question 246292, tabled on 17 December 2008, on Florence Chitauro.

Gillian Merron: This question was answered on 23 April 2009,  Official Report, column 808W.
	The delay in replying was due to an administrative error.

Employment

Jim Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what the employment rate was for  (a) 19 to 24 year-olds and  (b) those aged between 25 years and retirement age in each quarter since 1 January 2004.

Kevin Brennan: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 29 April 2009:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking what the unemployment rate was for (a) 19 to 24 year olds and (b) those aged between 25 years old and retirement age in each quarter since January 2004. (270927)
	The attached table provides estimated unemployment rates for the age categories requested, for each quarter since 2004.
	The estimates are derived from the Labour Force Survey (LFS). As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to a margin of uncertainty. The sampling variability of the overall unemployment rate at the end of 2008, measured by the '95 per cent. confidence interval' was + 0.2 percentage points. The sampling variability for specific age groups will be larger, because the estimates are based on smaller samples.
	The figures have been derived from the LFS microdata which are weighted using the official population estimates published in autumn 2007. Consequently, the figures from quarter 3 2006 are not entirely consistent with the figures published in the monthly Labour Market Statistics First Release which are weighted using more up-to-date population estimates.
	
		
			  Unemployment rate( 1)  by ageThree month periods ending March, June, September and December, 2004 - 08United Kingdom, not seasonally adjusted 
			  Percentage 
			Age 
			19 to 24  25 to 59/64( 2) 
			  2004 Q1 10 4 
			  Q2 9 4 
			  Q3 11 3 
			  Q4 10 3 
			 
			  2005 Q1 9 3 
			  Q2 10 3 
			  Q3 11 3 
			  Q4 11 4 
			 
			  2006 Q1 11 4 
			  Q2 12 4 
			  Q3 12 4 
			  Q4 11 4 
			 
			  2007 Q1 11 4 
			  Q2 12 4 
			  Q3 11 4 
			  Q4 10 4 
			 
			  2008 Q1 11 4 
			  Q2 12 4 
			  Q3 13 4 
			  Q4 13 5 
			 (1 )Unemployment rate is calculated as the number of people in unemployment as a percentage of the economically active population in an individual category. (2 )Men aged 25 to 64 and women aged 25 to 59.  Note: It should be noted that the above estimates exclude people in most types of communal establishment (e.g. hotels, boarding houses, hostels, mobile home sites etc).  Source: Labour Force Survey

Measurement: Domestic Waste

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what assessment the National Weights and Measures Laboratory made of the accuracy and reliability of refuse bin weighing technology used by local authorities in monitoring levels of household rubbish.

David Lammy: Measuring Instruments designed to be used to weigh household rubbish are controlled by the Weights and Measures Act 1985 and the Non-automatic Weighing Instruments Regulations 2000. The National Measurement Office (previously the National Weights and Measures Laboratory, NWML) is responsible, on behalf of the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills, for this legislation.
	The requirement exists for instruments to undergo a type approval process whereby the instrument is submitted to an independent certification body (Notified Body) for assessment against those statutory requirements which include tests designed to assess both accuracy and reliability.
	Each instrument is then subject to further assessment before it is placed on the market and used.
	These checks ensure that individual instruments are made in accordance with the type approval and that they are appropriately installed and are accurate in use.
	A number of such measuring instruments have been submitted to the National Measurement Office and to other similar bodies in other member states by manufacturers and have been assessed and subsequently type approved against the statutory requirements.

Banks: Finance

Gordon Banks: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 23 March 2009,  Official Report, column 90W, on banks: finance, by what date he expects the principles set out in the answer to be put into effect by state-supported banks.

Ian Pearson: UK Financial Investments (UKF1) manages the Government's shareholdings in the recapitalised banks. UKFI has a role in scrutinising banks' compliance with the recapitalisation conditions and also in scrutinising remuneration policies, to protect the interests of the taxpayer as major shareholder.
	Royal Bank of Scotland made an announcement in respect of its pay and rewards settlement on 17 February 2009, and Lloyds Banking Group made an announcement on 9 March 2009. Both of these settlements were in line with the principles as set out in the answer of 23 March 2009,  Official Report, column 90W.

Council Tax: Valuation

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 27 February 2009,  Official Report, column 1184W, on inheritance tax: housing, when the council tax banding support tool went live; and when the locality data was first used for council tax valuations.

Stephen Timms: The Valuation Office Agency's (VOA's) council tax banding support tool was first made available within the VOA on 27 March 2008. After this date, it was brought into use on a phased basis, following appropriate training; locality data was used from the outset.
	Location has always been a consideration when allocating a council tax band, but this tool is the first to use digitised locality data to support current council tax work.

Credit Default Swaps Market

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he plans to take to ensure transparency and increase investor confidence in the credit default swaps market.

Ian Pearson: Section 19 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 requires that anyone dealing in or arranging deals in investments, be authorised by the Financial Services Authority. This includes firms or individuals trading in credit default swaps. The Government support industry initiatives to clear more credit default swaps through central counterparties (CCPs) and international initiatives to update the regulations governing the credit default swaps market.

Departmental Art Works

Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 30 March 2009,  Official Report, column 919W, on departmental art works, which Minister in his Department selected each item.

Angela Eagle: The information provided in my earlier answer of 30 March 2009,  Official Report, column 919W, related to works of art displayed in all private offices and ministerial waiting rooms, regardless of whether they were selected by serving Treasury Ministers. Information relating to choices by particular Ministers is not available.

Departmental Working Hours

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what the policy of his Department and its agencies is on granting staff time off in lieu for working  (a) in lunch breaks,  (b) in evenings and  (c) at other times outside contracted working hours; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many days off in lieu were granted to staff in  (a) his Department,  (b) its agencies and  (c) its non-departmental public bodies for working (i) in lunch breaks and (ii) at other times outside contracted working hours, in the last year for which figures are available.

Angela Eagle: The matter of granting time off in lieu is delegated to Departments and their agencies to determine. There are no central rules governing the use of time off in lieu.
	HMT, Office of Government Commerce and OGC buying.solutions operate schemes agreed at team level by individual managers. The same broad principles apply across the schemes:
	Time off in lieu may not be claimed during a mandatory minimum lunch break period of 30-minutes each day
	Time off in lieu is the preferred compensation for additional work done at other times outside contracted hours; such as in the evening or at weekends.
	Where it is not possible to take time off in lieu, staff may claim overtime with the approval of a manager
	The Debt Management Office has no formal policy for granting time off in lieu however, in line with the Department and it's other agencies, overtime approved in advance may be claimed for work done outside contracted hours.
	With the exception of OGC buying.solutions, HMT and it's agencies do not record the total number of days of time off in lieu granted each year. These records are held within teams by individual managers and there would be a disproportionate cost in collating this information.
	OGC buying.solutions confirms that 76-days of time off in lieu were granted during the last year. This information was retrieved from the time-recording management information system used by OGC b.s. This software is not used by HMT or it's other agencies.

Fossil Fuels: Government Assistance

Gregory Barker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what financial contribution the UK has made to fossil fuel projects via the  (a) World Bank Group,  (b) European Bank for Reconstruction and Development,  (c) European Investment Bank and  (d) other Government-funded financial institutions in each of the last five years.

Gareth Thomas: I have been asked to reply.
	The UK is a shareholder of the Wold Bank and Regional Development Banks; contributing to shared capital. It also makes core contributions to these institutions to support work in the poorest countries. These contributions are pooled. Shareholders cannot specify that their capital or contributions can or cannot be used for specific purposes.
	A list of UK contributions to World Bank trust funds is set out in the answer to the right hon. Member for Sutton Coldfield (Mr. Mitchell), on 26 February 2009,  Official Report, column 1006W.
	Information on funding channelled through World Bank Group, African Development Bank, Asian Development Bank, Caribbean Development Bank, European Investment Bank, and Inter-American Development Bank trust funds for the extraction and transport of fossil fuels or fossil fuel projects is not held centrally.
	The UK has made contributions to trust funds operated by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development that have contributed to fossil fuel projects. In most cases these trust funds receive financial support from multiple investors and it is not possible to determine what the UK contribution is to a specific project. The exceptions to this are the Energy Efficiency Fund and Sustainable Energy Imitative funds where the UK contribution to four fossil fuel projects financed by these funds in the last five years is 864,336. The UK has committed a further 2,671,290 through these funds to other projects, which include renewable energy and industrial energy efficiency.

Welfare Tax Credits: Short Time Working

Margaret Moran: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to ensure that workers on short-time working are advised of their potential eligibility for tax credits.

Stephen Timms: The tax credit system is specifically designed to provide additional support when people need it most, such as when income falls because of a move to working shorter hours. In March, 355,000 households living on a lower income were receiving on average 35 per week more in tax credits.
	Take-up of tax credits is already extremely high for people with children. People already claiming tax credits can notify HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) of their changed income and circumstances over the phone, and can then benefit quickly from any additional support they are eligible for. As announced in Budget, HMRC's tax credits marketing are now focusing on reminding people to provide up-to-date information when their circumstances change.
	Budget also announced an ambitious target to raise take-up of working tax credit (WTC) among people without children by 100,000 by April 2011. HMRC is expanding its work with employers to increase take-up, which currently reaches around 750,000 employees, and is working in partnership with trade unions to pass information about tax credits on to their members. In the coming year, HMRC will begin new research-driven marketing aimed at those people who stand to gain the most from taking up WTC, and will launch a pilot using data from pay-as-you-earn records to identify and contact potentially eligible people.

Asylum

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average length of time to decide on applications for asylum received has been since 2006.

Phil Woolas: The latest available figures show the average time to initial decisions for asylum cases decided in 2006 was eight months and in 2007 was seven months. The average length of time (in months) is calculated from date application is lodged to the date of initial decision, and relates to the year in which the decisions were made. The average figure for 2008 will be available at the same time as the annual publication in August 2009.
	Information on asylum is published annually and quarterly. The latest quarterly statistics were published on 24 February 2009 and are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration-asylum-stats.html

Asylum

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which countries are on the Fast Track Processes Suitability List for asylum applications.

Phil Woolas: Section 94 (4) of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 makes provision for a list of countries from which asylum or human rights claims must be certified as clearly unfounded unless the Secretary of State is satisfied that they are not.
	The countries currently on the list are as follows: Albania, Bolivia, Bosnia- Herzegovina, Brazil, Ecuador, India, Jamaica, Macedonia, Mauritius, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Peru, South Africa, Serbia and Ukraine.
	Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Nigeria and Sierra Leone are on the list in respect of applications from men only.

Borders: Personal Records

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 23 March 2009,  Official Report, column 16, on e-borders, for how long data held under each category of information on travellers and passengers collected for the purposes of the e-borders programme will be retained when the programme is fully operational.

Phil Woolas: The information will be held for 10 years in totalin the database for five years, and in our archive for a further five years.
	This allows police to investigate the travel history of terror suspects and other criminals and enables the UK Border Agency to ensure that people leave when they are supposed to.

Departmental ICT

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the  (a) energy consumed by,  (b) energy cost of and  (c) carbon dioxide emissions from each category of IT device in each division of her Department in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: Central Government Departments and their Executive Agencies are required to report performance data on their total energy consumption for their office estate annually as part of the Sustainable Development in Government (SDiG) reporting process, to assess performance against the target to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from offices by 12.5 per cent. by 2010-11.against a 1999-2000 baseline.
	Currently the Department does not collect or hold data that would allow it to estimate the  (a) energy consumed by,  (b) energy cost of and  (c) carbon dioxide emissions from each category of IT device.
	We have recently signed up to the Carbon Trust Carbon Management programme which will assist us in identifying opportunities to further improve efficiency, reduce carbon dioxide emissions and to carbon footprint the estate including our IT.

Departmental Travel

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much  (a) her Department and  (b) its agencies spent on (i) car hire and (ii) taxis in 2008-09.

Phil Woolas: The Department has so far spent 1,045,671 on taxis during 2008-09; this is made up of 961,141 incurred by the core Home Office, including UK Borders Agency, and 84,530 spent by the Identity and Passport Service.
	The cost of overseas car hire cannot be identified without incurring disproportionate cost. However, the Department has spent 917,908 on car hire in the United Kingdom; this is made up of 862,644 incurred by the core Home Office, including UK Borders Agency, and 55,264 spent by the Identity and Passport Service.
	The cost of taxis and car hire incurred by the Criminal Records Bureau could not be identified without incurring disproportionate cost.
	All figures are unaudited, and Identity and Passport expenditure is for the first 11 accounting periods of the year.
	All travel is undertaken in accordance with the Civil Service Management and Ministerial Codes.

Entry Clearances

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many visas were issued in each of the top 10 source countries in each of the last five years.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 23 March 2009
	The number of visas issued in each of the top 10 source countries(1) in each of the last five calendar years is given in the following tables.
	(1) Top 10 counties on the basis of visa issued, not applications received.
	
		
			  2004 
			   Visas issued 
			 India 265,337 
			 China 133,458 
			 Nigeria 118,785 
			 Russia 114,968 
			 United States 106,138 
			 Pakistan 105,490 
			 UAE 56,816 
			 Saudi Arabia 47,175 
			 Turkey 44,441 
			 Kuwait 41,545 
		
	
	
		
			  2005 
			   Visas issued 
			 India 307,550 
			 Russian Federation 132,250 
			 China 124,969 
			 Nigeria 121,925 
			 Pakistan 108,426 
			 United States 99,040 
			 Turkey 59,025 
			 UAE 54,172 
			 Saudi Arabia 50,178 
			 Kuwait 47,109 
		
	
	
		
			  2006 
			   Visas issued 
			 India 363,804 
			 China 156,969 
			 Russia 148,399 
			 Pakistan 133,964 
			 Nigeria 103,503 
			 United States 97,876 
			 Turkey 67,985 
			 UAE 64,871 
			 Saudi Arabia 57,145 
			 Kuwait 46,866 
		
	
	
		
			  2007 
			   Visas issued 
			 India 353,030 
			 China 167,305 
			 Russia 151,369 
			 Pakistan 107,243 
			 Nigeria 103,731 
			 United States 88,433 
			 Turkey 71,922 
			 Saudi Arabia 60,943 
			 UAE 56,548 
			 Kuwait 42,194 
		
	
	
		
			  2008 
			   Visas issued 
			 India 349,193 
			 China 151,260 
			 Russia 132,310 
			 Nigeria 100,883 
			 United States 89,997 
			 Pakistan 82,268 
			 Turkey 78,284 
			 Saudi Arabia 76,807 
			 UAE 64,254 
			 Kuwait 46,612 
			  Source: Central Reference System

House of Commons: Right of Search

William Cash: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department who authorised the covert recording of discussions between police officers and the hon. Member for Ashford at and around the time of his arrest on 27 November 2008; and what the basis in law for such authorisation was.

Vernon Coaker: Matters of this sort are operational policing issues and not for the Secretary of State.
	Where the police wish to carry out covert recording as part of an operation and the covert recording is likely to result in the obtaining of private information it would require a directed surveillance authorisation under RIPA.
	This must be authorised by a superintendent. Where the covert recording occurs in domestic premises or a private vehicle it is intrusive surveillance and would require an authorisation by a chief constable and prior approval by an independent Surveillance Commissioner.

Immigration Controls: Eurostar

Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many unaccompanied child passengers intending to travel on Eurostar services to the UK have been denied boarding at the terminals in  (a) Paris and  (b) Brussels by UK immigration officials since the introduction of juxtaposed controls.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 20 April 2009
	The number of unaccompanied child passengers who have been refused entry at the juxtaposed controls, since their introduction in 2004 are as follows:
	 (a) Parisa total of 75 unaccompanied child passengers were formally refused entry.
	 (b) Brusselsa total of 29 unaccompanied child passengers were formally refused entry.
	These figures have been sourced from locally collated management information and do not represent National Statistics.

Immigration Controls: Overseas Students

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 12 March 2009,  Official Report, columns 636-7, on immigration controls: educational institutions, what criteria were applied in respect of the decision to require overseas students applying for courses to demonstrate that they have maintenance of 800 for each month of the course if studying in London, or 600 for each month of the course if studying outside London; and what assessment she has made of the appropriateness of this figure as a reflection of student spending.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 27 April 2009
	The maintenance requirement set for students studying in or outside London under Tier 4 uses the figures contained in the British Council's report Welcome to the UKStudying and living in the United Kingdom 2007-08. These figures were based on 2004 prices, and include the cost of accommodation, heating, lighting, food, clothing, books and daily travel for one person for a nine month academic year.

Immigration: Biometrics

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much funding her Department has allocated in respect of the  (a) capital and  (b) running costs of the Iris Recognition Immigration System.

Phil Woolas: To date, the Department has allocated a total of  (a) 4.9 million in capital and  (b) 2.9 million in running costs, in respect of the Iris Recognition Immigration System (IRIS).

Immigration: Manpower

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 4 March 2009,  Official Report, column 1638W, on immigration: manpower, how much her Department spent on  (a) salaries and  (b) operational costs for front-line immigration staff based in France in the latest period for which figures are available.

Phil Woolas: The figures for  (a) salaries and  (b) operational costs for front-line immigration staff based in France for 2007-08 were as follows:
	
		
			million 
			  (a) Salaries 29.3 
			  (b) Operational costs 11.8 
		
	
	This is the latest period for which financial accounts are available.

Personal Records: Borders

John Leech: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 10 March 2009,  Official Report, column 305W, on police: Greater Manchester, what estimate has been made of the cost of policing the new electronic borders operations centre in Wythenshawe, Greater Manchester; and whether additional resources will be made available for the policing of this facility.

Phil Woolas: The National Border Targeting Centre (NBTC) is scheduled to open in late 2009 and is a multi agency centre staffed with UK Border Agency (UKBA) and police officers. It is operated by UKBA, and managed by Trusted Borders, the Service Provider, who is responsible for providing 24 hour security as part of the e-Borders service contract.
	The impact upon local policing resources of the NBTC being in Manchester is considered to be negligible, and it is not expected that specific funding to the Greater Manchester Police Authority will be needed to pay for policing the new centre.

Police: Disclosure of Information

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  for what reasons the internal Merseyside Police review of the treatment of Paula Gilfoyle's death scene, compiled by Detective Superintendent Edward Humphreys was not disclosed to the defence prior to Mr. Gilfoyle's trial;
	(2)  where the  (a) report of the review,  (b) draft report and  (c) notes of interviews with police officers were between the end of Mr. Eddie Gilfoyle's trial and the time they were disclosed to the defence for Mr. Gilfoyle's appeal in 1995;
	(3)  for what reasons Detective Superintendent Gooch of Lancashire Police in his investigation of the case of Mr. Eddie Gilfoyle on behalf of the Police Complaints Commission was told that the notes of interviews with officers compiled for the Humphreys Review had been destroyed; and who had possession of those notes at the time when Detective Superintendent Gooch was told that.

Jacqui Smith: This information is not held by the Home Office. This is a matter for the chief constable of Merseyside police.

Prisoners: Foreigners

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 20 April 2009,  Official Report, columns 170-1W, on detainees: offenders, how many of those held on the immigration detention estate are of each nationality.

Phil Woolas: The information requested is not centrally collated nor is it readily possible to obtain due to the rapidly changing situation as large number of foreign criminals are removed on a daily basis as evidenced by the record 5,395 deportations and removals of foreign criminals that took place in 2008. In order to obtain this information it would be necessary to obtain a snapshot of the number of individuals who are detained at any one point then examine individual case files in order to identify their nationality which would incur a disproportionate cost.
	The chief executive of the UK Border Agency has written to the Home Affairs Select Committee on a regular basis in order to provide all of the most robust and accurate information available on the detention and deportation of foreign national prisoners. She will continue to do so as required.

Council of Business Advisers

John Mason: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many times the Council of Business Advisers has met; when it last met; who the members of the Council are; how many civil servants have attended each meeting of the Council; and how much the Council has spent on  (a) travel,  (b) hospitality and  (c) other expenses since June 2007.

Gareth Thomas: The Business Council for Britain has met formally five times, the most recent meeting being on 14 January 2009. The executive chair of the Better Regulation Executive is invited to attend business council meetings and the officials attending the meetings have been: the PM's Private Secretary; the Permanent Secretary, BERR; two officials from the Business Council's Secretariat and an official from the Cabinet Office. In addition, the joint head of the UK Government Economic Service also attended the meeting in January 2009.
	There are currently 16 members of the Business Council, a full list is attached as follows. The Business Council has incurred a sum of 870 for hospitality, but no other costs for travel or other expenses.
	Business Council for Britain, membership as at 3 April 2009:
	Stephen Green, Chairman, HSBC (and Chairman of the Business Council)
	Sir Richard Branson, Founder, Virgin
	Damon Buffini, Chairman, Permira
	Cynthia Carroll, Chief Executive, Anglo American
	Sir William Castell, Chairman, Wellcome Trust
	Sir Rod Eddington, Director, News Corporation
	Dr Tony Hayward, CEO, BP
	Sir Terry Leahy, CEO, Tesco
	Ian Livingston, Chief Executive, BT
	Sir John Parker, Chairman, National Grid
	Sir John Rose, CEO, Rolls-Royce
	Sir Stuart Rose Executive Chairman, Marks and Spencer
	Dame Marjorie Scardino, CEO, Pearson
	Sir Alan Sugar, Chair and CEO, Amshold
	Paul Walsh, CEO, Diageo
	Andrew Witty, CEO, GlaxoSmithKline

Departmental Assets

Bob Spink: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform when his Department last reviewed its assets and land and property holdings with a view to identifying and disposing of surpluses.

Patrick McFadden: This Department's published Asset Management Strategy can be found on the BERR website at the following address:
	www.berr.gov.uk
	The Department does not own any material or significant non-property related assets.
	The Department does not own any land.
	The Department owns the freehold to only one building, the Core Store, situated in Edinburgh, which is currently fully occupied and let to the British Geological Survey. All other buildings are leased.
	Since 2003-04, the Departments' estate has undergone substantial rationalisation and BERR staff now occupy only 1.5 buildings in central London. Where buildings have been vacated, they have either been let to other Government Departments or the leases have expired.

Free Trade: Burma

John Battle: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what progress has been made in securing an EU-ASEAN free-trade agreement; and whether Burma will be party to this agreement.

Gareth Thomas: EU-ASEAN free trade agreement negotiations were launched in May 2007 in Brunei. ASEAN, due to its competitiveness, is a very important market with which to further deepen trade relations. However, since 2007 progress on starting substantive negotiations has been very slow. This has been a result of ASEAN finding it difficult to agree a common negotiating position.
	The UK position is that Burma should not benefit from a future EU ASEAN FTA. This is an issue to which the UK attaches great importance.

Israel: Overseas Trade

David Amess: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform when  (a) he,  (b) Ministers in his Department and  (c) his officials last met the Chairman of the Israel Britain Chamber of Commerce to discuss trade between the UK and Israel; on what dates the next such meetings are planned; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: I have not yet had the opportunity to meet Len Judes, Chairman of the Israel-British Chamber of Commerce.
	Contacts in Tel Aviv are regular and ongoing. UKTI officials based in London who are responsible for business with Israel meet representatives of the Israel-Britain Chamber of Commerce when they travel to Israel. UKTI officials met Mr Judes on one of his recent visits to the UK.
	My hon. Friend the Minister of State for Trade and Investment will be visiting Israel in a private capacity later in the year, although he will spend some time on official business. He hopes there will be an opportunity to meet Mr Judes during that visit.

Minimum Wage

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of workers receiving a wage below the national minimum wage.

Patrick McFadden: The Government are committed to simple, effective enforcement of the national minimum wage (NMW) which deters non-compliant employers from underpaying their workers and removing the unfair competitive advantage that underpayment can bring. New measures brought under the Employment Act 2008, which took effect from 6 April this year, include automatic penalties of up to 5,000 for employers found not to be complying with the NMW, a new system for calculating repayment of arrears of NMW to a worker which takes account of the length of time the arrears have been outstanding and greater powers for officers enforcing the NMW in obtaining records. In 2006 the then Chancellor of the Exchequer, my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister, announced an increase of 2.9 million per year for enforcement of the national minimum wage, each year for four years.
	The Government also run an extensive publicity campaign aimed at informing workers and businesses about the national minimum wage. In 2007-08 the Government helped to restore 3.9 million in arrears to over 19,000 workers.

Trade Promotion: Expenditure

Greg Hands: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the cost to his Department was of the UK Trade and Investment Take it to the World programme on the latest date for which figures are available.

Gareth Thomas: UK Trade and Investment's Take it to the World programme, has the objective to raise awareness amongst businesses of its role and the benefits of exporting, in line with the recommendation in the National Audit Offices recent value-for-money report.
	The programme has cost 780,982 (0.25 per cent. of total budget).
	This has helped achieve an additional 46,000 visitors to UKTI's website when comparing March to the previous month.

Community Development

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the final data are for the educational Key Stage 3 target for the performance of schools in Neighbourhood Renewal Fund areas, as referred to on page 44 of her Department's 2008 Annual Report.

Sadiq Khan: There are no plans to release 2008 Key Stage 3 final data for Neighbourhood Fund areas.
	On 16 October 2008, the Secretary of State for Children Schools and Families announced to the House significant changes to the school assessment and accountability system, including the end of compulsory Key Stage 3 tests. Following this widely welcomed announcement it was subsequently decided and announced to the House on 16 December 2008, not to proceed with collating and publishing Key Stage 3 performance tables at the school-level for 2008, as to do so would place a disproportionate burden on secondary schools.

Community Relations

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the work of citizens' juries in determining how targeted provision of teaching English for speakers of other languages can build community cohesion.

Sadiq Khan: The Department for Communities and Local Government co-hosted two citizens' juries with the Department of Innovation, Universities and Skills as part of DIUS' 2008 consultation on re-focusing English for Speakers of Other Languages. The Government's aim in re-focussing ESOL is to ensure the most socially excluded are not overlooked by existing ESOL provision. The Government believe that the new approachon which an announcement will be made shortlywill make a major contribution to strengthened community cohesion
	No separate evaluation was made of the contribution the citizen jury element made to the wider consultation. But the Government believe Citizens' Juries continue to have a useful role to play as one of a range of consultation tools available to local and national policy makers.

Community Relations: Finance

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what funding her Department provided to Connecting Communities Plus in 2008-09; and what allocation has been made to Connecting Communities Plus for 2009-10.

Sadiq Khan: The Department provided funding under the Connecting Communities Plus Programme of 5,757,119 to organisations working to promote race equality and community cohesion during 2008-09.
	Connecting Communities Plus funded national level strategic partners and local level projects for a three-year period from 2006-09. It also funded over 300 small community organisations with one-off grants of up to 12,000.
	The Connecting Communities Plus fund ended on the 31 March, however in April 2009, we invited bids for the Tackling Race Inequalities Fund, which will provide funding for Third Sector organisations whose works helps to address race inequalities. The fund will provide 3 million in 2009-10.

Departmental ICT

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps her Department has taken to address the effect on levels of carbon dioxide emissions from her Department of its ICT purchases since the publication of the Greening Government ICT Strategy; and if she will make a statement.

Iain Wright: Communities and Local Government has taken the following steps to address the effect of carbon dioxide emissions of ICT purchases since the publication of the Greening Government ICT strategy:
	Prepared a Sustainable Procurement Strategy which will address achieving 100 per cent. compliance with the Buy Sustainable Quick Wins Minimum Procurement Specifications list for new procurements.
	Produced a Greening Government CIO Green ICT Roadmap to report compliance with operational and strategic Green ICT targets. This includes more re-use of existing equipment, using devices for longer before replacement and reducing the number of devices used by each individual.
	CLG will be implementing a Corporate Printer Strategy to reduce the overall number of printers used by the organisation, control their usage to reduce the amount of paper used, and replace individual printers with multi-functional devices with green printing defaults where possible (for example duplex printing).

Empty Property

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 25 March 2009,  Official Report, columns 472-3W, on empty property, when the seminar to address local authorities took place; and how many local authorities were represented at the meeting.

Iain Wright: The Empty Homes seminar took place at Admiralty House on 23 April and 12 individual local authorities were represented at the meeting as well as the West London Housing Partnership, representing seven London boroughs, and the Herts, Beds, Bucks Empty Homes Forum, representing 24 local authorities. A further eight local authorities were invited but were unable to attend. The Homes and Communities Agency, LACORS and the Empty Homes Agency were also represented at the seminar, along with officials from my Department and the Government offices for the regions. I also attended.

Energy Performance Certificates

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on how many occasions energy performance certificates have been issued more than five days after the completion of the  (a) construction and  (b) modification of a building; and what penalties can be imposed in such circumstances.

Iain Wright: No information is collected centrally about the date on which either construction or modification of buildings is completed. However, a building control officer must have evidence that an energy performance certificate is available before they can certify that the construction of a building has been completed. This same requirement only applies to the modification of buildings where this leads to the creation a separate dwelling or non-domestic unit that has heating, hot water or air conditioning. Enforcement of this requirement is a matter for local authority building control.

Equal Opportunities

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps she is taking to promote race equality and community cohesion in response to the slippage against her Department's target indicator on discrimination in the labour market, as referred to on page 122 of her Department's Annual Report 2008.

Sadiq Khan: The Department works with central Government Departments and other stakeholders to mainstream race equality into public policy and delivery and to focus policies on the most significant inequalities, for instance employment and the Criminal Justice System. It was disappointing that the target on perceived discrimination by employers was not met, although in the same public service agreement period, the Government's target on minority ethnic employment rates was met comfortably.
	We have also worked closely with the DWP through the Ethnic Minority Employment Task Force to address these issues and will work with the Task Force to implement the findings of the National Employment Panel's Business Commission Report, which made a number of recommendations for Government to increase the levels of employment and progression of minority ethnic people in the private sector.
	The Government's overall approach to race equality over the last few years was set out in our race equality and community cohesion strategyImproving Opportunity, Strengthening Society.
	On 24 February 2009 Communities and Local Government launched Tackling Race Inequalities: A discussion document which is seeking views from the public, private and third sectors, and the public, on the next steps the Government should take on tackling inequalities faced by many people from minority ethnic groups.

Housing Revenue Accounts

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 6 March 2009,  Official Report, columns 71-2WS, on local authority rents, what estimate she has made of the likely change to the Housing Revenue Account of local authorities which bid for additional subsidy.

Iain Wright: The change in subsidy will depend on how many local authorities have accepted the offer set out in the written ministerial statement of 6 March. This is currently being reviewed in the light of local authorities' responses to the consultation on a draft amending subsidy determination, which ended on 24 April.
	Local authorities' actual subsidy entitlements for 2009-10 will not be known until their first subsidy claim forms are received later in the year.

Housing: Low Incomes

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans her Department has for the  (a) provision and  (b) development of affordable housing in Eastbourne constituency.

Iain Wright: The Homes and Communities Agency allocated funding of 2.6 million to Eastbourne to enable delivery of 97 affordable housing units due to be completed in 2009-10. This is in addition to Housing Corporation funding of 1 million for 2007-08 and 3 million for 2006-07 for the delivery of affordable housing in Eastbourne.
	While Government set the national policy for the delivery of affordable housing it is for local authorities to determine the development plan for their own area by taking into account local needs identified through robust evidence. The housing allocation for Eastbourne set out in the Structure Plan, is for the provision of 360 units per annum. Eastbourne's Borough Plan 2001-11 sets a target for the provision of 75 affordable housing units per annum representing just over 20 per cent. of the total allocation. This rises to 30 per cent. in the proposed changes to the Regional Spatial Strategy for the South East where Eastbourne's housing allocation is set at 240 units per annum.
	The new Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) was launched in December last year, replacing the Housing Corporation and is the single national housing and regeneration agency for England with a budget of over 5 billion per year. Investment Managers from HCA are engaging with local authorities to look at how best to deliver local affordable housing ambitions in line with local plans.

Housing: Low Incomes

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many new affordable homes have been built in  (a) Tamworth constituency and  (b) Staffordshire in each year since 1997.

Iain Wright: The Communities and Local Government (CLG) data for provision of new affordable housing is based on local authority boundaries rather than constituency boundaries.
	The number of affordable homes built within Tamworth borough council and Staffordshire are as follows:
	
		
			  Number 
			   Tamworth borough council  Staffordshire county council (including Tamworth) 
			 1996-97 30 600 
			 1997-98 20 450 
			 1998-99 80 500 
			 1999-2000 40 450 
			 2000-01 120 580 
			 2001-02 40 380 
			 2002-03 40 340 
			 2003-04 10 440 
			 2004-05 90 750 
			 2005-06 10 460 
			 2006-07 10 310 
			 2007-08 20 420 
			 Total 510 5,680 
			  Source:  CLG

Housing: Low Incomes

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people were newly-housed in affordable homes in  (a) 2004,  (b) 2005,  (c) 2006,  (d) 2007 and  (e) 2008.

Iain Wright: Information on the number of people in affordable housing is not available. The following table shows the number of new affordable homes provided in England from 2004-05 to 2007-08.
	
		
			   Number of affordable homes provided 
			 2004-05 37,470 
			 2005-06 45,980 
			 2006-07 44,570 
			 2007-08 53,730 
		
	
	Affordable housing figures are collated from the Homes and Communities Agency Investment Management System (IMS); and Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix (HSSA) returns and P2 house building returns submitted to CLG by local authorities and the National House-Building Council (NHBC).

Housing: Low Incomes

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent progress has been made towards the target of making all social housing decent; and if she will make a statement.

Iain Wright: Information provided by social landlords shows the number of non-decent social sector homes has reduced from 1,231,000 in 2005 to 714,000 in 2008a reduction of 42 per cent. Over the same period the proportion of non-decent social sector homes has reduced from 31 per cent. to 18 per cent.
	The Homes and Communities Agency has taken on management of the Decent Homes programme and is actively working with all landlords, as part of single conversation, to ensure all social housing is made decent.

Local Government Finance

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 30 March 2009,  Official Report, columns 976-7W, on local government finance, how many local authorities have submitted bids to the Homes and Communities Agency for a social housing grant.

Iain Wright: None. The Homes and Communities Agency will shortly be inviting local authorities to bid for a share of the 100 million of new funding we have just announced in the Budget for local authorities to deliver social housing.
	As my previous answer stated, in January 2009 we consulted on changes to the revenue and capital financing rules that would enable local authorities to apply for new specified properties to be excluded from the Housing Revenue Account subsidy system and thereby keep the full rental income from such properties and the full capital receipt should the property be in future sold (especially under the Right to Buy over which the local authority would have no control). This would provide greater freedom and flexibility for local authorities to build new properties using their own resources. Consultation closed on 17 April.

Mortgages: Government Assistance

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many repossessions have been prevented as a result of assistance provided by the Homeowner Mortgage Support Scheme.

Margaret Beckett: Homeowners Mortgage Support (HMS) is a new scheme, available from 21 April 2009, which will enable eligible borrowers to reduce their monthly mortgage interest payments to affordable levels for up to two years to help them get back on track with their finances if they suffer a temporary loss of income. HMS offers significantly extended forbearance compared to normal lender arrangements by assisting more households who may have otherwise faced repossession proceedings immediately, and providing greater certainty and protection for a period up to two years. We estimate that up to 85,000 households could be helped by HMS, many of whom will be able to remain in their homes on a permanent basis.

Planning Permission

Richard Younger-Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will introduce regulations to require local authority planning committees to have regard to World Heritage Sites when making decisions on planning applications.

Iain Wright: Planning Policy Guidance (PPG) Note 15 (Planning and the Historic Environment) already advises that the outstanding international importance of a World Heritage Site is a key material consideration to be taken into account by planning authorities in determining planning applications.
	An amendment to the General Permitted Development Order in October 2008 conferred special protection on World Heritage Sites by removing permitted development rights for certain types of minor development which could, on a cumulative basis, have an adverse effect on the outstanding universal value of a World Heritage Site.
	Under the terms of the Town and Country Planning (Consultation) (England) Direction 2009, planning authorities are required to consult the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government before approving any planning application made on or after 20 April 2009 to which English Heritage maintains an objection and which would have an adverse impact on the outstanding universal value, integrity, authenticity and significance of a World Heritage Site or its setting. The Secretary of State then has the discretion to call-in the application for her own determination if she considers it appropriate to do so.
	World Heritage Sites are 'sensitive areas' for the purposes of the environmental impact assessment (EIA) regulations. Local planning authorities must therefore require EIA to be carried out for any development proposal in or partly in a World Heritage Site if they think it is likely to have significant environmental effects.
	The Government consulted last year on a draft planning circular, and accompanying guidance prepared by English Heritage, which will further recognise in national policy the need to protect World Heritage Sites as sites of Outstanding Universal Value. These are being revised in the light of consultation responses and final versions should be published by the summer.
	In addition, the Government have announced their intention to consult on a revision to planning policy on heritage protection (PPGs 15 and 16) soon. This will provide a further opportunity to comment on this issue.

Supporting People Programme

Helen Southworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will review the eligibility criteria to enable young people leaving care aged 16 or 17 years to receive services funded by the Supporting People programme.

Iain Wright: Each local authority is responsible for setting their own eligibility criteria based on local needs and priorities, which then determines who can access services that are funded from the Supporting People Programme .
	While the Government set the national framework for the provision of Supporting People services, administering authorities have responsibility for developing, delivering and monitoring the programme locally, based on local needs and priorities in relation to the provision of housing support, which develops and sustains an individual's capacity to live independently in their accommodation, as set out individual in the local authority's Supporting People five-year strategy.
	From 2009-10 the ring fence has been removed from the Supporting People Programme which provides local authorities with the opportunity to develop and provide more innovative and holistic services to meet local needs and priorities.

Children: Protection

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the National Safeguarding Unit for the Third Sector.

Beverley Hughes: holding answer 23 April 2009
	On the 22 January 2009 my noble Friend the Baroness Morgan of Drefelin announced that the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) and Children England have been awarded a 2.2 million contract over three financial years for the delivery of a new Safeguarding Unit for the Third Sector. The new Unit will be formally launched and fully operational on 5 June 2009.
	The Department is currently developing an evaluation methodology with the NSPCC and Children England which will measure the effectiveness of the Unit's interventions. Evaluation will be ongoing in order to shape and drive delivery of the Unit. A final independent evaluation will be completed prior to the contract end date of 31 March 2011 to inform future policy.

Children: Protection

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the answer of 20 April 2009,  Official Report, columns 271-2W, on special educational needs, how much has been spent on local authority functions in relation to child protection in each local authority area in each year since 1997.

Beverley Hughes: The information requested is not collected centrally.
	I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 10 February 2009,  Official Report, column 1950W.

Children: Protection

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many serious case reviews were  (a) conducted and  (b) had their executive summaries published in each year since 2001.

Beverley Hughes: I refer my hon. Member to the reply given on 23 February 2009,  Official Report, column. 442W about the number of serious case reviews. Local Safeguarding Children Boards are required to make public an executive summary of each serious case review. Paragraph 8.33 of Working Together To Safeguard Children states that 'in all cases, the LSCB overview report should contain an executive summary that will be made public and that includes, as a minimum, information about the review process, key issues arising from the case and the recommendations that have been made.' Lord Laming's recent report, 'The Protection of Children in England: A Progress Report' reinforced the importance of high quality, publicly available executive summaries of serious case reviews. The Government have accepted Lord Laming's recommendations and will be publishing a detailed response to his report shortly.

Education: Assessments

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families which subjects are available to be studied at  (a) GCSE and  (b) A level; and what proportion of students studying each such subject at each level is from the (i) maintained and (ii) independent school sector.

Jim Knight: Tables showing each subject available to be studied at GCSE and A-level, along with the proportion of students studying each subject from the maintained and independent sector, have been placed in the House Libraries.

General Certificate of Secondary Education

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the Answer of 27 January 2009,  Official Report, column 485W, on general certificate of secondary education, what proportion of pupils achieved five or more GCSEs at grades A* to C including English, mathematics, science and a modern foreign language in each year since 1997.

Jim Knight: The information requested is given in the following table:
	
		
			  Pupils who achieved five or more grades A* to C including English, mathematics, science and a modern foreign language from 1997 to 2008 
			   Number  Percentage 
			 2008 154,743 23.7 
			 2007 156,152 23.8 
			 2006 168,131 25.9 
			 2005 179,760 28.3 
			 2004 183,397 28.5 
			 2003 177,440 28.5 
			 2002 183,621 30.3 
			 2001 183,295 30.4 
			 2000 172,769 29.8 
			 1999 169,172 29.1 
			 1998 158,041 27.5 
			 1997 150,752 25.7 
			  Source: Achievement and Attainment Tables 
		
	
	The 2008-2005 data is based on pupils at the end of KS4.
	The 2004-1997 data is based on 15-year-old pupils at the start of the academic year.

General Certificate of Secondary Education: Young Offender Institutions

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the answer of 16 March 2009,  Official Report, column 867W, on the General Certificate of Secondary Education: young offender institutions, which body holds information on the examination results of young people in the secure estate.

Beverley Hughes: Information on the examination results of all young people in custody is not collected centrally. However, since the roll-out of the Offender Learning and Skills Service, led by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC), in Prison Service Young Offender Institutions (YOIs) in England in August 2006, some data is now collected nationally by the LSC. However this data is for young people in Prison Service YOIs only, and does not include data about learning for young people in Secure Training Centres, Secure Children's Homes or privately managed YOIs.
	Also some young people in custody are still registered at schools and colleges and therefore any GCSEs that they achieve whilst in custody will be reflected in achievement figures of schools and colleges, rather than the figures reported by the LSC for those achieved in Prison Service YOIs.
	I refer my hon. Member to the reply given on 20 April 2009,  Official Report, column. 243W on the latest information from the LSC on the numbers of GCSEs achieved by young people in Prison Service YOIs.

Pupil Exclusions: Special Educational Needs

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the answer of 24 February 2009,  Official Report, columns 754-55W, on special educational needs, how many of the exclusions referred to were exclusions from special schools.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The available information on the number of permanent and fixed period exclusions (not pupils) from special schools, for pupils with statemented or non-statemented special educational needs of behavioural, emotional or social difficulties, for 2005/06 and 2006/07, is shown in the following table.
	Information is only available for the school years 2005/06 and 2006/07 and is shown in the table. For the 2005/06 school year, information on fixed period exclusions was collected via the school census for the first time but for secondary schools only. In 2005/06, reasons for exclusion were not collected from special schools.
	
		
			  Special schools( 1) : Number of fixed period and permanent exclusions where pupils' primary special educational need is emotional, behavioural and social difficulties( 2) , by reason for exclusion (estimates)( 3) , England, 2005/06 and 2006/07 
			   2005/06  2006/07 
			   Fixed period( 4)  Permanent( 5)  Fixed period  Permanent 
			 Physical assault against a pupil   1,690 10 
			 Physical assault against an adult   2,470 30 
			 Verbal abuse/threatening behaviour against a pupil   390 0 
			 Verbal abuse/ threatening behaviour against an adult   1,760 10 
			 Bullying   410 (6) 
			 Racist abuse   170 0 
			 Sexual misconduct   90 (6) 
			 Drug and alcohol-related   200 0 
			 Damage   610 (6) 
			 Theft   80 (6) 
			 Persistent disruptive behaviour   2,560 20 
			 Other   1,450 20 
			 Total  90 11,880 90 
			 (1) Includes maintained and non-maintained special schools. Excludes general hospital schools. (2) Data for primary SEN need is collected for pupils with a statement of special educational needs or who are classified as being school action plus only. Data here has been taken from the National Pupil Database. (3) Figures relating to reasons for permanent exclusion are estimates based on incomplete pupil-level data. (4) In 2005/06, data on fixed period exclusions was not collected from special schools. (5) In 2005/06, reasons for exclusion were not collected from special schools. (6) Less than 5.  Note: Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10.  Source: School Census.